Fashion on the Ration: Style in the Second World War (Signed)
Condition: VERY GOOD
Edition/Year: 2015
Publisher: Profile Books
Pages: 230
Format: Hardback
Bookplate with author signature
'It would be an added calamity if war turned us into a nation of frights and slovens' wrote Vogue's fashion editor in September 1030, just two weeks after the outbreak of the Second World War. And so began the struggle to keep Britain stylish.
For millions of women throughout the long years of the war, fashion was not simply a distraction, but a necessity - and one they weren't going to give up easily. In the face of bombings, conscription, rationing and ludicrous bureaucracy, they maintained a sense of elegance and style with determination and breathtaking ingenuity. From the young woman who avoided the dreaded 'forces bloomers' by making knickers from military issue silk maps, to Vogue's indomitable editor Audrey Withers, who balanced lobbying government on behalf of her readers with driving lorries for the war effort, Julie summers weaves together stories from ordinary lives and high society to provide a unique picture of life during the Second World War.
As a nation went into uniform and women took on traditional male roles, clothing and beauty began to reflect changing social attitudes. For the first time, fashion was influences not only by Hollywood and haute couture but by the demands of industrial production and the pressing need to 'Make-Do and Mend'. Beautifully illustrated and full of gorgeous detail, Fashion on the Ration lifts the veil on a fascinating era in British fashion.
